A Federal High Court sitting in Awka, Anambra State, presided over by Justice A. Abubakar, has sentenced four traders to six years in prison for dealing in fake drugs.
The convicts, Anayo Okoye, Ifeanyi Onuoha, Chukwudozie Eze and Okechukwu Nwafor, will serve eighteen months each in prison.
They were found guilty of possessing and selling counterfeit and substandard drugs bearing forged trademarks.
Their lawyer, Mr. E. O. Ego, had earlier pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy considering the fact that the convicts were first time offenders and had families to cater for.
Delivering judgment, Justice Abubakar held that the accused should serve a prison term of eighteen months each.
Justice Abubakar ordered that the jail term should run concurrently since one of the convicts had already been in detention for about five years.
The prosecutor, Mr. Nwokoro Emmanuel, who is a Zonal Legal Officer, Federal Ministry of Justice, Enugu, hailed the judgment, describing it as a step in the right direction.
He said, the judgment is a step in the right direction because it would send a warning signal to others peddling fake drugs in the society.
He noted that a lot of people have died as a result of fake drugs and the judgment will help indiscouraging the practice and protect the health of the people.
Comments are closed for this post.